a trilogy in sixteen parts
by fiesa
Summary: Naruto is a naïve farm boy, grown up on a jungle planet. Sakura is the daughter of a senator, princess of her world. Kakashi is a broken Jedi Master in self-imposed exile. And Sasuke… Sasuke is an ass, because, when isn't he? A Naruto/Star Wars cross-over that should not be taken seriously. (Complete in two parts.)
1. 1-7

**a trilogy in sixteen parts**

 _Summary: Naruto is a naïve farm boy, grown up on a jungle planet. Sakura is the daughter of a senator, princess of her world. Kakashi is a broken Jedi Master in self-imposed exile. And Sasuke… Sasuke is an ass, because, when isn't he? A Naruto/Star Wars cross-over that should not be taken seriously. (Complete in two chapters)_

 _Warning: You know when sometimes you love stuff, like, a lot? Like, cake and pizza, and grilled cheese, and Nutella and ice-cream and that one special brand of apples? Well, simply because you love all of it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a good idea to just mix it all up… You get where I'm going?_

 _Set: story-unrelated._

 _Disclaimer: Standards apply._

* * *

 **meeting (1)**

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I am here to save you?"

Is that a question, she thinks, has the blond, overly enthusiastic clutz that only _barely_ managed to get her cell doors unlocked just stumbled in, tripped over his own tongue and asked her a question that, _by all means_ , should be obvious? Because, of _course,_ Princess Sakura of Alderaan, daughter of Tsunade Senju the respected, sharp-tongued, _beautiful_ Senator, should _not_ be imprisoned in a cold, grey Imperial cell on an Imperial star destroyer no matter how little she looks like her famous mother.

"Or maybe you're here because you want to be?"

A question. Yep, that's definitely a question he's asking her, rubbing the back of his head like an embarrassed, utter _fool._

"Of course I don't want to be here!" She hisses at him, already on her feet. "Are you on your own?"

"Oh, no, Kiba's with me, and Akamaru, of course, because the droids that were looking for the old man told us you'd need our help and Kiba's ship was the only one good enough to get up into atmo, you know, there aren't many ships left on Konoha, we have a lot of forest but you can't build space ships with wood so…"

Sakura stares at her – _ahem_ – rescuer for a few precious seconds of time before she just opts to ignore him and rushes past him, her head held high, as if he was some silly courtier she would not deign to acknowledge.

 _Save yourself,_ her mother had always said. _Nobody else will do it for you._

The farm boy – _jungle boy_ , she thinks, he's from _Konoha,_ for Force's sake – follows behind her, still chatting, completely oblivious to her desperation. In a way, he reminds her of her father: the rambling, the way he hides the intelligence in his eyes behind the façade of a complete and utter _fool_. Provided he is in possession of a modicum of intelligence, something her mother – but no time for that. He has never seen a star destroyer before, she realizes as she casts him a quick side glance. He's nervous, shifting in his skin, glancing back every second. His obvious discomfort doesn't serve to lessen hers, but at least it makes it easier. For a second, Sakura feels something irrational like thankfulness well up in her –

Something smelly, hairy, _panting_ slams against her with all the force of a moving wookie.

"Down, Akamaru!" Naruto hisses, desperately. "Kiba!"

The _thing_ doesn't stop breathing down her face.

"Hey, it's cool!" Another voice comes from the front. "Akamaru, stand down." Finally, the monster deigns to step back. Sakura is left staring at an almost man-high, wolf-like creature.

"How does he even fit into a ship!"

"Ah, Akamaru might seem a bit raucous, but he's worth his credits when it comes to sniffing out Imperials," the man – Kiba – says cheerfully. "Hello, Princess!"

"There are the intruders!"

They run.

* * *

 **alliance, forced (2)**

"Congratulations! You're being rescued. Please don't resist."

Shikamaru programmed the former Imperial Assassination Droid himself, thinking, at that time – yes, what _had_ he been thinking? He couldn't quite remember; vaguely, he recalls a lot of Correllian whiskey and a large amount of credits. Now, the droid's words make him think, idly, that maybe he should have a look at its communication subroutines one more time. Where for kriff's sake has it picked up irony?

The blond woman clearly does not appreciate the humor. She stares at him from where she's flat on her back, having run into Kay-Too's unmoving form.

"I don't need rescuing."

"There is a host of Imperial Stormtroopers following you," Kay-Too informs her. "From this, combined with the fact that you are trying hard not to attract attention, that this is an Imperial data collection center and given the additional information that the Imperials seem to be searching for a blonde female, I calculate an eighty-nine-point-six percent chance that you are an Alliance spy, and will be caught within the next five minutes. If one of the three of us needs help, it's not me or Shikamaru."

The woman looks – well, for one, she looks like she is wearing a mask. There is nothing on her face betraying her thoughts. Even when Shikamaru tripped the two 'troopers that had been hard on her heels a few seconds before, the surprise she must have felt had flashed in her eyes for not more than a second. She's probably a captain when it comes to ranks, operating by herself, and if he ever wanted a short-cut into the Alliance this might be the time and place. But Shikamaru couldn't care less for either the Alliance or the Empire. _Troublesome,_ he thinks. The last thing he needs is being arrested for aiding and abetting an Alliance spy. But she had seemed so _desperate_.

Two Stormtroopers dash around the corner, their blasters aimed, and –

 _To hell with it._

Shikamaru stuns both of them.

The woman is on her feet again, whirling to face three more attackers that appear from the second side alley. The speed of her movements is… _intriguing_. The Stormtroopers are down within seconds.

"If we don't deliver Jabba the Hutt's cargo today," Kay-Too says, unnecessarily, "he'll throw you to the Rancor."

The look of disgust the Rebel spy throws him is pretty easy to read. Shikamaru rolls his eyes, sighs and grasps the woman by her elbow.

"For Force's sake, just accept a bit of help, will you, stubborn woman."

He counts it as a win that she doesn't knee him in the balls.

"I don't need the help of a _smuggler._ " The way she spits out the word one would think it is the worst swear word she knows. _(It's not, he heard her swear in at least three different languages before, plus they're now talking Basic.)_

 _Great, Nara. Apparently, chivalry died for a reason._

"Rebel Lady, you can either accept the help of a _smuggler,"_ He copies her inflection and sees her eyes darken in anger, "or face those guys back there by yourself."

She tears her arm out of his grip and stares back, her face giving away precisely nothing.

"Lead the way."

It sounds like _I will kill you the second I don't need you anymore, and your death will be slow and painful._ It makes him smirk.

"Our probability of making it off the planet in one piece has decreased to thirteen-point-four percent."

"Does he ever shut up?"

"Try and make me."

Oh, great. Shikamaru's already regretting this.

* * *

 **farewell (3)**

"I believed in you."

His former student laughs in his face, cold, spiteful, and Kakashi is stuck by the achingly familiar pain so intensely he can't breathe. _When did it go wrong? Why would it end like this?_ He looks pale in the ink-black uniform of his, the black cape swirling around his shoulders like a living being. Hs eyes are black, too, with a hint of gold.

The golden Sith eyes shrink to slits. It's a cruel smile.

"Again all that nonsense about hope and love, _Master_? So naïve. You always were weak. The Council was corrupt until its very core, blocking itself with its own rules and regulations, but you could never see that."

"And you could never see the light in yourself, Sasuke. Itachi believed in you, believed you would make a difference. He wanted you to be happy."

" _Don't talk about Itachi!"_ Sasuke snarls, his entire body tensing. "He's _dead!_ And his blood is on the Order's hands!"

 _Master; I have failed you. I have failed you in so many ways._

And yet – he has been given a second chance. He doesn't deserve it, hasn't asked for it – and yet. He was _needed._ _Kakashi_ was needed, he was _necessary_. Someone relied on him. Someone trusted him. Someone relied on his experience and his knowledge, and the realization makes him feel.. it makes him feel _old_. Naruto. Naruto, Minato and Kushina's son, brighter than the sun, little Naruto is all grown up. And so is Sasuke, but the difference between them is _staggering_. It makes Kakashi wonder, not for the first time in the past sixteen years, whether the Jedi really had it all figured out when it came to training only and foremost the young. Look at Naruto, barely even able to lift a boulder, and yet so bright in the Force that it hurts his eyes to look at him. And then Sasuke, next to him: trained from early age, his skills honed and sharp like a blade. Sharp – but brittle, too. Maybe they trained the Jedi too much. Maybe they taught them too many rules and too little about life. Maybe that was why Sasuke had broken, in the end: all his ties to his family cut, his beloved brother dead, young and angry and so utterly, utterly alone.

But nobody of the Order is left alive to uphold the Path, nobody is left except for Kakashi and Sasuke and Naruto. A student, a Master – and a Sith.

And Sasuke snarls and lunges at him, his blade flashing, and Kakashi can't see anything of his former student in the man before him anymore. Not a trace of the boy is left. He always was a brilliant light saber duelist, though, and Kakashi finds he is drawing on the Force more and more. He isn't sure he will be able to kill Sasuke. His former student is strong in ways Kakashi never was. But... From the corner of his eyes, he sees a flash of blonde, blue eyes, he almost expects to hear the beloved, familiar voice – but no. It's Naruto, a horrified expression on his face, and inwardly, Kakashi recoils. How can he load the burden of killing on his young student's shoulders? Naruto already paid so dearly for the sins of the Jedi of Old. But sometimes… Sometimes there's no other way, is it?

 _Trust in the Force, Kakashi._

And Kakashi – Kakashi does.

"You can't win, Sasuke. Strike me down. I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

 _Trust in the Force, Naruto._

* * *

 **he's a natural (4)**

"Excuse me, is this aircraft occupied?"

"Nah, Red Three is in the med bay now, why're you asking- Hey! Hey, you can't just take the X-wing!"

"What's the matter, mechanic?"

"Sir, there's that guy, he just jumped into the X-Wing and took off!"

"I don't allow unauthorized take-offs on my flight deck – get that man back down immediately!"

"But, Sir, there's a battle raging out there, we can't spare any other pilot to escort him back…"

"Oh, for _Kriff's_ sake! Mechanic, just tell me this man has piloted an X-wing before."

"Sir, I don't think he's ever been inside a space fighter his entire life. He's from Konoha. But, I think-"

"You think, mechanic?"

"I think he is the last Jedi, Sir."

"Blasted backwater jungle planet wannabe heroes!"

* * *

 **siblings, the first (5)**

"Sakura."

Ino looks tired, and, nevertheless, brilliant and composed as usual. Silly, stupid, passionate Jiraiya, consort to the former queen of Alderaan and now-senator Tsunade Senju, used to call her _sunshine_. If she is a sun, Sakura thinks, then Ino is a star: cool, sometimes invisible – but in the darkness: oh so bright!

"Ino!"

They embrace: warmly, familiar. The walls of the Rebel hideout on Hoth are cold around them, but neither of them notices.

"I am so glad you are okay."

"I'm fine," Sakura consoles her sister, pushing away a few strands of Ino's golden hair that has fallen out of her usual, tight braid. "It's _you_ we were worried about! When we didn't receive any message from Jedha, and then they said you'd gone to Scarif…" She swallows, feeling the burn of desperation still lingering in her mouth like an aftertaste. "I thought you were dead."

Ino hugs her again, fiercely. "Sorry. We transmitted the blueprints but they shot down the ship. I had to find another way off-planet. And once I was back they told me you had been sent to find Jedi Master Hatake but Uchiha intercepted your ship."

For a second, Sakura is _there_ : in the cell of the cold, cold ship, dark, familiar eyes burning into hers. _Where are the blueprints?_ Nothing left of the boy she once loved, nothing but that cold, dark hatred that burns her alive whenever she– She pushes the thought away angrily.

But Ino notices – Ino always does – and holds her tighter, and then she changes the topic.

"How did you manage to escape?"

Sakura is surprised at the laugh that escapes her. "Some farm boy from Konoha, can you believe it? Just walked into my cell and asked me whether I wanted to stay or to leave. Next thing we are running from Imperials on an Imperial star destroyer, and he's playing with some stupid bells. I'll have to tell you the long version when we've got the time. How did you get away?"

"A smuggler helped me."

Ino… Ino _shifts._ Sakura notices, because she's her sister, and it makes her wonder.

"The one in the ship that looks like it's falling apart?" Sakura claps her hands to her mouth to stifle a giggle. "The one with the former Imperial droid as a co-pilot?"

Ino doesn't say anything, and that, in itself, is telling. Her sister might be a perfect spy – breathing deception and desperation, her father had always said – but if there is anyone who knows her, it's Sakura. And from what she's seen of the smuggler, she cannot imagine Ino – rigid, cool, purposeful-to-the-end and by-the-book Ino, Ino, the perfect Alliance intelligence officer – on the same ship with that man.

"A smuggler!" She finally crows, further urged on by Ino's expression of absolute loathing. "A smuggler," she repeats, and finally breaks down laughing. "Oh, I can't _wait_ to hear that story!"

Ino elbows her in the ribs in retaliation, although she keeps her strength in check (like always when she's around Sakura, Sakura knows well), but it is totally worth the look on her face.

* * *

 **snowballs in hell (6)**

"Have you seen Ino?"

Sakura Senju is _beautiful_. Even in the white uniform and coat that are standard issue, she stands out.

Their breath puffs out in white, pretty little clouds. Naruto doesn't think he's been this cold before.

"She left for a routine patrol this afternoon, I think," he says and tries very hard not to look at the Princess too much.

She is beautiful in a way that makes him think of warm light dancing through the forest, of the sun setting over the lush, green canopy of the trees. Naruto loves Konoha. He loves the forest, its sounds, the scent of earth and rain. But he also hates it. It is a beautiful world within a sphere, forgotten. His home is an unreal, peaceful place within a galaxy that is at war, and he – he can do nothing at all. Master Kakashi is dead. There is nobody left to teach him or guide him or whatever. Is he supposed to figure this out all by himself?

If the galaxy is depending on the Last of the Jedi, they are _so_ fucked.

And Sakura is so beautiful he can't look at her, so pretty it makes his heart ache, and that's not good because it distracts him from what he needs to be doing.

He feels so, so cold.

 _(Master Kakashi taught him so much but not enough, it's never enough, his last words haunt Naruto every night because there still is a mad avenger out there and a man cold-blooded enough to slaughter worlds and a temple full of little children, and Sakura looks so sad when someone mentions the name Uchiha, and Ino – Ino –)_

Ice. _Cold._ Whiteness.

 _Ino._

"What is it?" Sakura asks, and Naruto just so manages to smile at her.

"Nothing. I'm sure she'll be back soon. Sorry. I gotta go, Kiba's waiting for me."

Sakura returns his smile, relieved – Naruto's heart makes a painful lurch – and he turns towards the hangars, breaking into a run the moment she cannot see him anymore.

Four and a half hours and a veritable snow storm later he is back.

Ino is a limp weight in his arms; her eyes are closed, her lips blue and her face a shade of white so stark she looks like – he doesn't really want to think of what exactly she looks like. When he stumbles into the hangar again, Shikamaru turns around the corner and catches sight of them.

The swear words he utters, Naruto thinks, somewhat amused despite his exhaustion, he must have picked up from Ino.

He relieves Naruto of her dead weight _(not dead, not dead, you're not going to die I dare you)_ peculiarly gently and Naruto feels something deep within snap back. His knees buckle. Suddenly, he realizes he's been drawing on the Force the entire time, and he hasn't even noticed.

"Med Bay," he mutters, and follows Shikamaru. They're halfway there when the blasted sirens go off.

This time, they curse in tandem.

 _Attention, Echo Base. This is General Rieekan. The location is compromised. Initiate protocol Kay One Zero. All units, proceed to the designated evacuation sites. Freighter pilots, prepare to take on noncombat personnel first._

"Uchiha is getting annoying," Shikamaru says. "What-"

 _Echo Base, we are under attack from ground troops. Prepare for ground assault._

"Take Ino," Naruto shouts at Shikamaru over the sudden, drowning rush of activity in the corridor. "Keep her warm!"

This time, Shikamaru only mumbles something in response and takes off at a run. Naruto turns into the other direction.

 _Don't die, Ino, I dare you!_

Something – a feeling, a sensation – makes him stop in his tracks again abruptly. It rocks through him, hot and cold, familiar and alien at the same time. It takes root within him, grows, and suddenly –

"Uzumaki! We don't have all the time in the world! Move!" Kiba shoves him towards the X-wing that somehow became his after his mad attack run on the Death Star and continues on to his own U-wing, Akamaru hard on his heels. "See you out there!"

They run.

They fight.

Somehow, they survive. Others don't.

It's horrible, the losses he can feel, the death. So many people he can't save because he is too damn _weak_. At least he hears Shikamaru's gruff voice announce that he has Princess Senju and Captain Yamanaka on board, he hears Echo Base ground control declare complete evacuation, and Sakura is there, as usual, at the edge of his consciousness, until lights explode around her and Shikamaru's _Falcon_ jumps into hyperspace. And then, somehow, it is over.

Rendez-vous coordinates are programmed. Artoo is beeping merrily.

And as Naruto reaches for the lever that will take his X-wing to hyperspace, he hears a voice in his head. If he wasn't so accustomed to Kakashi's Force apparition by now, he probably wouldn't have recognized it for what it was. But even then, it is fairly hard not to listen to a voice when it drips with so much authority and disdain.

 _If you want to defeat the Emperor and Uchiha, your next destination is Dagobah._

And:

 _Otherwise, stop wasting my time._

* * *

 **it's a trap (7)**

"Are you sure we're safe?" Sakura asks, for the umpteenth time, and Shikamaru sighs.

"Yes. He's an old friend of mine. He won't rat us out to Uchiha."

Problem is: he does not sound so sure of it, himself.

Ino can sympathize. She really can. Where are they supposed to go? He has a princess on board and, as much as she hates it, a high-ranking Alliance intelligence officer suffering from severe hypothermia. Uchiha – the Emperor – would have a field day with them if they caught up to them; there are few people higher on the Emperor's – no, on Uchiha's Most Wanted-list than Sakura, right now. The hyperspace engine of the decrepit, old piece of junk Shikamaru calls his ship is damaged. They need spare parts and time to replace the broken ones, and they need a safe place. Ino's not stupid, she wouldn't have survived as a spy otherwise. She needs to rest. As it is, she can barely stop shaking, and exhaustion is making her hallucinate.

(Shikamaru looks at her with something that is _almost_ softness in his eyes, and yep, she's definitely hallucinating.)

So Cloud it is.

"You should rest," Sakura says, lovely in a pink evening gown – courtesy of Cloud's Administrator – and she looks worried, so Ino probably still looks horribly sick.

"I'm joining you," Ino says, instead, waving away her stepsister's worries, and warily eyes the midnight-blue dress draped over the bed in front of her.

"Stubborn to the end," Shikamaru mutters behind her, and she whirls around to glare at him – at least; she wants to but her sense of equilibrium deserts her and she stumbles. He grabs her arm and Ino is, idiotically, glad for how _steadfast_ he is. It feels like holding on to a rock, like finally something in her ever-shifting life is _there_ -

"I don't need your help."

"No, you don't."

The lack of expression in his face makes her want to strangle him.

 _(Kettle, black-)_

The dining quarters are beautiful, cream-colored walls with delicate, dream-like inked pictures adorning them. The large window faces towards the sunset. The clouds are the shade of Sakura's hair.

"I am sorry," Sai says, looking at Shikamaru, and Ino feels the air being sucked out of her lungs. "They arrived shortly before you."

"Troublesome," the smuggler mutters and she _loathes_ him, how could he, isn't he aware that he's allowing a _Princess_ to be delivered to the Emperor, that Sakura's the one person Uchiha has wanted to possess since forever. How could he trust this man? How could _she_ have trusted _him_?

"Look, Lady-"

"Don't talk to me."

He does as he is told, and it hurts even more.

"What should we do with the smuggler?" A 'trooper asks Uchiha, and the bastard doesn't even glance back.

"I hear there is a bounty on his head. Freeze him in Carbonite and send him back to the slug. Make sure to collect the credits."

 _No._

"Sas- Uchiha, you can't freeze him in Carbonite, it's dangerous-"

He lifts a hand, and time stops. "Don't force me to hurt you, Sakura."

 _No._

Ino can fight. She was born to fight, _trained_ to fight her entire life. She can kill a man with a blaster and without, she can run and hide, place traps, pilot ships. She can strategize, act and wait. As Sakura was trained to be a princess and a diplomat, Ino was trained as an intelligence operative, and she is good. She _knows_ she is good. She _knows_ she can fight. And she won't let them take Shikamaru because it is _her_ right, hers alone, to make him pay for his carelessness. She won't allow that bastard Uchiha to take him–

She doesn't make it past the second trooper.a

"You know, Ino," Uchiha says, and his lips twist into a cold grin. "I always thought you were the reasonable one out of all of them."

( _Someone is screaming.)_

No. No. Nonono-

"Ino, calm down, Ino-"

"No-"

"Freeze him."

"NO! No, _please_ , don't–"

"It's okay, Rebel Lady," Shikamaru says, and his infuriating smirk is the last thing she sees.


	2. 8-16

_Part 2_

 **a stone is a stone is a stone (8)**

Dagobah, commonly named _planet of sound,_ is a green jungle very much like Konoha and very little so. It seems to sing with a voice of its own, softly, like a song whispering through the night.

Granted, a very off-key song, but who is he to complain.

Naruto jumps out of his X-wing and lands on the soft ground elegantly and the swamp sucks him in with a triumphant sound. Right up to his knees.

"Well, at least it's not a nest full of hungry fire eagles again, isn't it, Artoo?"

Of course the droid can't answer, but it feels comforting to talk to _someone_ , at least.

"You are late."

The voice is cool and measured. Naruto, exhausted from the search for Ino and the ensuing fight with the Empire's assault troops and the time spent cramped in an X-wing cockpit, does the only rational thing (and will forever be proud of it: of having, once in his life, reacted like a Jedi and not like a farm boy). He uses the Force to boost himself out of the murky depths of stinking water while his hand goes to his lightsaber, his fingers find the activation switch, familiar and warm; the glowing blade slices forward in a lethal arc–

Or, it _would_ have done so, had he _actually_ managed to get himself out of the swamp. As it is, he just stumbles forward, his right calf still stuck, and drops face-first into the dirty water. The blade goes out with a sizzle of dying energy.

"It seems that stupidity is indeed hereditary," the voice comments again, without inflection.

Naruto looks up to find a tall, white-haired man in front of him, ramrod-straight back and black, slanted eyes.

"I am Orochimaru. You will address me as Master. If you show a modicum of intellect, motivation and ability, I will teach you the ways of the Force. If you prove to be the same disaster your father was, I will not."

This time, Naruto manages to pull himself free, his heart pounding. "My father-"

"Your father was an idiot. Also, he has nothing to add to this conversation. Am I clear?"

"You brought him up," Naruto mumbles, but keeps his mouth shut after a devastatingly withering glare is cast at him. He stands up taller. "Very clear, Master Orochimaru."

"Good."

So it begins.

Sakura said it already: You can take the boy out of the forest, but you cannot take the forest out of the boy. Naruto has the feeling he is missing something, but he can't for the life of him figure out what. Stones remain stones, no matter how long he stares at them; tries to make them float, to arrange them in the air in the way Master Orochimaru wants him to. Dreams remain dreams. Naruto looks at stones he cannot lift and, at night, dreams of things he cannot have, and Sakura's fearful eyes mix with Ino's angry tears, and –

"I need to go. My… The Alliance. They're in danger."

"What makes you think you being there, untrained and stupid as you are right now, will save them?"

"I don't know. I just… I can't let this happen."

"What, this?"

"This… future."

"The future as you, ignorantly, call it, is not necessarily the future that will come to pass. Maybe what you think is going to happen will only occur if you leave now to prevent it."

"But…" Naruto lets his fingernails bite into his palms and desperately wishes himself back to a time when everything was clear and easy, when his greatest trouble was to sell some of the junk he collected to buy something to eat. "I can't just leave them alone! They might die!"

"It's impossible to control the future, Uzumaki." Master Orochimaru's voice is steely but carries an almost gentle inflection that very much sounds like _understanding_ , and maybe the incongruency is the only reason why Naruto does not bolt for his X-wing right now.

"But – but – Master Kakashi said nothing is impossible in the Force –"

"Kakashi Hatake was a dreamer and an idealist."

"What is wrong with being either?!"

"Idealists survive because other people take it upon themselves to make the tough calls. Dreamers don't survive. I won't stand for training idiots, Uzumaki. You are free to leave. But you should trust your friends."

 _My first friends. My only friends._ It sounds so simple, thinking it, but it is impossible to say it out loud. Naruto never had friends before, growing up in the depths of the forest all by himself. _But – not anymore._

 _(You are not alone anymore. You never will be.)_

Naruto swallows, closing his eyes and willing his fists to open. "I trust them."

"Hereditary, indeed."

Master Orochimaru's voice is sharp as a vibro blade, as always. But Naruto knows he has not imagined the glimpse of kindness in his eyes.

"Master, can I stop balancing these stupid stones, I am ready for the next lesson-"

"I decide when you are ready."

"Ouch! Master, I can't float the blasted things when you keep throwing rocks at me- OUCH!"

* * *

 **proof of concept (9)**

Huttese, Sakura thinks, is a language as foul and vile as the beings that it originated from. Ino speaks it, fluently, and seems to use it more for cursing than for communicating.

 _(It is a contradiction, like everything Ino is: Sakura's beautiful stepsister with her golden hair and blue eyes, angelic, whose glare is able to make grown men dive for cover. The only one she's ever seen to stand his ground is–)_

Currently blind and shaking violently from the repercussions of having been frozen in Carbonite, and yet he manages to sound as non-committal as ever.

"This was probably not the best idea you've ever had."

Shikamaru sounds as if he's commenting on Ino's choice of color for a dress and not on their – admittedly now running into more dead ends than anticipated – attempt at rescuing him. _Definitely_ _not_ as if them staying alive from this point on depends on quite a lot of luck, right now, which, unfortunately, it does. Sakura's not the intelligence officer Ino is, but she is not _stupid._

"Shut up," Ino shoots back and sounds like she is seriously regretting having come to save him. "You're even more useless than usual now, so just let us do this, okay?"

Ino isn't looking at him, so she doesn't see his smile. Sakura is, and she does. It is… _soft._ Sakura glances at her stepsister and feels sorry for Shikamaru.

"I really don't want to interrupt the two of you in your tender reunion, but could we focus?" She asks, instead, and smiles sweetly at Ino's glare. "It's not like we're in a particularly comfortable situation, right now."

That's an understatement. They are, in fact, on one of Jabba the Hutt's sail barges, bound for the Forbidden Forest to – who knows, maybe to be torn apart by jungle predators or to be fed to a particularly nasty one, none of which sounds attractive to her. The attempt to rescue Shikamaru without causing a fuss has backfired spectacularly, and – well. Sakura doesn't especially care to reiterate the events, but let it be said that Ino can can her _I told you so,_ alright? Just because the queen of indifference pretends to not care doesn't mean she actually _doesn't,_ and who would know that better than Sakura.

"This smells like the inside of a trash compactor," Shikamaru says, matter-of-fact.

"This _is_ a trash compactor," Ino shoots back.

"Lovely. Who thought Jabba would have one. Eco-warrior and Spice dealer, the new style."

Sakura sighs, feeling a headache growing behind her temples. How she wishes they had Kay-Too with them, Shikamaru's droid. He would be quite helpful right now. Even Threepio would probably be of more help than any of them currently is, but the point is, none of them is _there._ And the comm is blocked, and the unholy humming sound of the trash compactor is a steady, present background noise, and Shikamaru can't see and Ino is hurt and Sakura should be close to panic but for some reason–

A sound from above, a sliding noise, and something drops into the small space next to them with a sickening thud. No. Not something, but _someone._ Sakura rears back – vaguely human features manifest in the dark – oh Force they're _doomed_. It must be one of Uchiha's bounty hunters, or Jabba's guards. Ino puts herself in front of Sakura with nothing but a vibro blade, Shikamaru only grasps at air trying to hold her back, Sakura lifts her blaster and aims around Ino, and the stranger opens his mouth to give them away–

"I'd say this is a surprise but it's not, not really."

 _Wait._ She knows the voice.

"Don't you have more important things to do than to slink around Jabba's trash?" Naruto asks, apparently somewhere between happiness, anger, worry and resignation.

Sakura stares.

"Naruto?" Ino's, of course, the first to recover. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving you, isn't that obvious?" He's cheerful as ever, overly so, it makes Sakura want to hug him and punch him at the same time.

She does both.

"Woah," Naruto says when she lets go of him. "That's one hell of a new scent you discovered, Princess."

And, when she glares, he rubs the back of his head like the stupid idiot he is and grins so widely her heart makes a weird jump.

"When I said I wanted to show you Konoha I certainly didn't mean these parts of it, you know."

"Naruto," Shikamaru interrupts them. "But do you, by chance, have a better escape route than these two?"

Instead of answering, Naruto makes a weird motion with his hand and the walls of the compactor begin moving inward.

"Is that your plan?" Sakura yelps, horrified.

Ino, strangely, is smiling. Shikamaru just is plain uninterested, or maybe he doesn't realize what's happening. Blindness, indifference. Whatever.

"Don't worry, Princess," Naruto says and grins at her, and again she wants to punch him. "Artoo has it under control." Then, he gives Ino a hug and a cursory glance, and the worry in his voice is real. "Are you alright?"

Ino's still holding the arm one of Jabba's pet rancors injured before they managed to kill it by crashing the iron grate onto it. She doesn't quite smile but her eyes are warm. And Sakura, who has almost rarely ever seen her stepsister be friendly with _anyone_ , is _baffled_.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

"Good." Naruto smiles back, and suddenly the warmth in Sakura's stomach is replaced by something else.

* * *

 **not your average bedtime story (10)**

"Kay-Too, stop threatening the locals!"

"I'd like to remind you, Shikamaru, that I'm a former assassination droid. _Not_ a storyteller."

* * *

 **siblings, the second (11)**

"And my sister is strong in the Force, as well."

Naruto stares at her, all blue eyes and wild hair and sincerity. For a second, she allows herself to indulge in a dream: that she is his sister; that she had real parents who truly cared for her so much they died saving her (and her twin). That she's not just an orphan of war that was kindly taken in by Senator Senju. That she _belongs_ – not only somewhere, but _with_ someone _._ But that's bantha fodder, she knows, because nothing in her life has ever been that easy.

"So what?" She asks, looking away.

Naruto grasps her hand. She freezes – his hand dwarfs hers, easily, rough and worn and calloused – and then tears her hand away, because his closeness is burning through her and it kriffin' _hurts._

He is not deterred. Naruto laughs, open, _warm_ , scratching the back of his head like the stupid farm boy he is. "Isn't it amazing? Dad and Mom would be so happy."

"You _can't_ be my brother."

"Why not?"

"You… You…" Well, for once, because he's a Jedi. The Last Jedi, more specifically. And she's just – she's just a soldier. She grew up as the adoptive sister to a Princess, but other than that, she has no special powers whatsoever.

"I found you on Hoth, didn't I? When nobody even knew you were in trouble. And you found me here."

"Bantha fodder. Shikamaru located your signal."

"No, he didn't. You did. I found you in the middle of an ice storm because I can _sense_ you. And you found me here because you can sense me, too. In the Force. You know it's true."

"It's not."

But she's lying. She knows she is, and, worst of all: he knows she knows, too. She can _feel_ it, feel _him_ , his warmth, his strength, his acceptance. But she's not a Jedi. She's not a hero. And, more than that: she can't be the daughter of the heroes of the Rebellion, the Hero Without Fear and the famous, brilliant Senator. She's just another Rebel Alliance spy. The things she has done – it can't be. It just… It can't.

"We share a bond." Naruto leans over, presses his forehead to hers.

"I'm happy to finally meet you, beloved sister." He smiles brightly but there is a veil of tears in his eyes. "We're not alone anymore."

His sincerity and his love sear through their twin bond, into her and all the way into her frozen heart, and Ino feels herself disassemble.

* * *

 **open space (12)**

"Anyone else here has the feeling this is it?"

"Red Four to Red Two, how long will it take for you to finally learn the com rules?"

Red Two's laughter is evident in his voice, and so is a gruff bark in the background of his connection. "You'll never get the stick out of your ass, will you, Hyuuga? Relax."

"The Admiral owes me a dessert," someone else mumbles into the following silence and they all regard the inside of the Mon Calamari battle cruiser's hangar. There is a host of different star fighters all around them, carefully stacked into the ship's hangar bays. Some last mechanics can be seen running, but other than that, there is nobody left except for them. For all it matters, they could be alone in their tiny, cramped cockpits, with no connection to any other living being except for their comms, and they can all feel it.

"Ten, you're always eating."

"Yeah, and at least my girlfriend can hug me without being speared by my elbows."

A moment of silence. A snort.

"Leader, was that you?" Someone demands. "Red One? Did you just _laugh_?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"He spent too much time with that smuggler and his friends," Red Five says, matter-of-fact. "Three, how did you manage to make the General change his mind about you joining us?"

A sudden silence, and a soft answer. "I told him he would need to lock me up if he didn't want me to fight."

"You're the heir to the company-"

"I don't care," Red Three says, very determined and very clear. "My place is out there, with you guys."

"You go, girl!" Red Two cheers.

"Don't make fun of her-"

"Calm down, Four, everyone knows-"

"It is a great honor for us to have Red Three with us! These are our moments in which each one of us blooms, like a flower, most beautiful and most youthful in the moment of-"

Seven voices. "SHUT UP, SIX!"

Red Six just laughs.

The computerized voice carries no emotion at all. "T-minus one-hundred seconds until re-entrance of realspace."

"Red squadron, Red Leader. Ready for deployment. Leaving hyperspace in eighty-six seconds."

They all feel the drop, the characteristic sensation of _falling_.

 _"Home One_ , this is Admiral Ackbar. All squadrons, deploy."

The stars twist as they accelerate, shooting away from the bulk of the Mon Cal cruiser. The moon Endor is there, green and blue, slowly rotating in their field of vision.

"So small," someone whispers on the squadron channel, and nobody asks what that means because they all know.

And then the incoming signals emerge from the planet's dark side, first the fast, lethal TIE-fighters, painfully familiar silhouettes, then the heavily armed capital ships, so _many_ of them, someone curses–

"All squadrons, incoming! Imperial signatures, one Executor-class dreadnought, five destroyers, further signatures incoming, this is the whole fuckin' Imperial fleet-"

"Control, Red Leader, we are picking up more TIE signatures, approaching from vector seven-alpha-nine-oh-one."

"Red Squadron, stand by."

"Karabast!" Red Two curses. "Do they want to get us killed or something-"

"Red Two, Red Leader. Stand by. Incoming transmission. Broadcasting on squadron frequency."

"Twin Suns leader to Red leader. Looks like you need someone to save your asses. _Again._ "

The bright, golden suns painted artfully onto the fighter's planes are definitely not Imperial standard.

Red Four's annoyance is palpable. "Not them. _Again._ "

"Shouldn't there be only two of you?" Red Two broadcasts, sarcastically.

"We're named after the twin suns of Suna, idiots, not because there are only two-"

"Twin Sun Leader to Two, shut your mouth. We're not here to fight each other."

"Red Leader to Twin Sun Leader. We appreciate your assistance."

"One, new Imperial signatures-"

"Star destroyers are deploying-"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"All squadrons, this is Admiral Ackbar. The Imperial fleet is attacking. The shield is not down yet. I repeat: Endor's energy shield has not yet been neutralized. All squadrons, _attack!_ "

* * *

 **all the things we (13)**

Sasuke can't remember when he looked across the empty space between them for the first time and thought, _I can't beat him._

It's irrational. It really is. Because Sasuke has all the training Naruto lacks, all the experience, the connections. He grew up, sheltered and educated, while Naruto had nobody. Sasuke has a heritage, a name that carries power. Naruto is just an orphan. Even their strength – it is unfairly matched, to Sasuke's advantage. _Everything_ between them is to Sasuke's advantage. And yet, when he looks at the man glaring at him over the sparking, screaming edges of their blades, he can't help the thought.

 _You have everything. I have nothing._

And that's… That's irrational, too. Because Sasuke had what Naruto now has, too. Laughing with Sakura. Arguing with Ino. Kakashi – training with Kakashi, the first person, after Itachi's murder, to not look at him with pity in his eyes. _(So long ago, so far away, and that, ultimately, had been a lie, as well.)_ But right then… it had been _right_. Not only having a place to be in but people to be with, and… It's daunting, because Sasuke doesn't need that. Friends make you weak. Kindness is weakness. Emotions leave you vulnerable. And Sasuke is not weak.

Naruto is, and yet he refuses to give up.

"Your parents _abandoned_ you on a backwater jungle planet, all by yourself," he taunts, and it is gratifying because he can sense Naruto's helpless anger. "I bet Kakashi knew where you were all the time, and he didn't come to get you. Usually, war orphans are taken care of, but you – you were thrown away like a piece of garbage. Even Ino grew up in a home and with foster parents-"

Something in Naruto's eyes, and in his Force presence, make Sasuke look again. Blue eyes, blond hair, and there is something in the face before him, something familiar beyond what he thinks he knows–

"Ino." Sasuke feels his lips twist into a humorless grin. "They hid her right under the Danzo's nose, those bastards. Ingenious, really. How does it feel to learn you have a sister, when you're right about to lose her again?"

"Sasuke-"

"So much time we spent together as children, and yet it never occurred to me that she might be Force-sensitive, too."

"Leave her out of this."

"The Emperor will be pleased. Shaping an untrained Sith is so much easier-"

 _"Leave. Ino. Alone!"_

Naruto's frayed patience snaps, like a dry twig under a careless foot. _Ah_ , Sasuke thinks, and feels something like exhilaration rising. _Now we're going somewhere._

How strange that ultimately, no memory remains.

They fight, but Naruto cannot remember how, or why, or where. Just that there is darkness around him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice is screaming.

How could someone who never knew him _hate_ him like that? To the extent that he would hurt everything and everyone Naruto loves? It is incomprehensible. There is nothing but overwhelming _anger_ when he looks at the man in front of him.

And then, suddenly, _light_. Everywhere. And warmth. _"A bit too much like your father, aren't you? Reckless to the end. But I guess it's my fate to always save your stupid asses."_ Light, and a voice, and so much _love_ in it that he chokes, and suddenly there is strength where he thought he didn't have anything left. Like invisible arms wrapping around him, holding him close. _"You can do it, Naruto."_ The Emperor laughs, and Naruto _fights_.

"You _stupid idiot. Go through_ _me_."

Sasuke is impaled on the tip of a light saber.

And Naruto – Naruto feels the change in the Force: darkness to light, hate to desperation, anger to sadness _._ Other things don't change.

"Good riddance," Sasuke whispers, blood running down the corner of his lips. Behind him, the Emperor sighs one last time and dies, the blade of Naruto's green light saber fizzing out where it has killed him, as well. And Naruto doesn't know whether to laugh or to cry, because Sasuke had been about to kill him, and then, suddenly, had turned against his Master because-

 _Sakura_.

It seems like Sasuke Uchiha, in the end, still loved the Senju Princess enough to want to protect her from Danzo's clutches.

 _Sakura loved him, too_ , a voice whispers at the back of his mind, but that… It doesn't matter.

"Thank you."

"I didn't do… this for… for you."

But there is no malice in his voice, no taunt.

"Just…" An iron grip at Naruto's shoulder. "Just… don't make the same mistake, stupid. Not… like me."

"You're a Jedi again, Sasuke."

"Bullshit." Sasuke coughs. "I don't do peace and calm."

And Naruto – Naruto laughs. "I get that feeling, yes."

They're similar. It's strange, but they are. Naruto grew up all by himself and Sasuke grew up in the middle of a huge clan and yet – they were lonely, both of them. It's heartbreaking, the realization that, indeed, they could have been friends. In another life, another reality – they _would_ have been friends.

"We could have been friends, you know."

Sasuke laughs, a painful, wheezing sound, but it carries no malice at all. "As if." He closes his eyes. His sigh sounds like a name.

"Sakura-"

And then he dies.

* * *

 **siblings, the third (14)**

"Ino."

In the moonlit darkness of Endor's night her hair is silver and her face pale, and Sakura thinks that her sister always was beautiful. The wind whispers in the leaves around them, a song of sorrow and happiness at the same time. Now and then, voices and snippets of music from the party drift up, but otherwise, they are alone.

"Shikamaru said you wanted to be alone-" The flash of _something_ in Ino's eyes confirms her suspicions. "So I came to find you. Are you alright?"

"Alright?" She sounds like she is tasting the word on her tongue, sounding it out. Turning it over and over in her head. "I… I don't know. Danzo is dead. The Empire is crumbling. We … did we win, Sakura?"

Sakura moves closer. "Yes. The Rebellion succeeded." And suddenly she knows what feels so wrong.

Ino looks… she looks _small._ It's strange. She always was the taller one of the two of them, the older sister, the _strong_ one. Ino was a spy for the Alliance intelligence long before Sakura became a senator. And even though she never says anything – never tells Sakura where she goes when she disappears for months on end, and why she sleeps with a vibro knife under her pillow, and why she burned her favorite dress when she returned from a mission one day – Sakura knows that she has done things and seen things Sakura cannot imagine. But the point is: Ino has protected Sakura from the harsh reality for so long that both of them know no other way, and now Ino is lost. But Sakura doesn't feel lost at all. Maybe she grew up. Maybe now it's her time to protect Ino, or, at least, to help her stand.

"What," Ino asks, very quietly, "will I do?"

"Stupid," Sakura says, with feeling. "Do you really think the New Republic will not need experienced people like you? Stop worrying for now, okay. We'll find something. I will be without employment, too. We can go to the job center together."

And it's not everything – it won't be enough for a long time – but Ino cracks a smile.

And then she lifts her head, and suddenly, her demeanor brightens. "Naruto is back."

The happiness in her voice hits Sakura like a blaster shot; paralyzes her for breathless seconds. _Ino and Naruto_. Why hasn't she seen it before? Naruto always worried for her. And Ino liked him well enough, she supposes, they had been talking quite a lot – but what about Shikamaru? Is Ino leading Naruto on? What is it Sakura hasn't seen? The feeling of jealousy boils up hotly, mixed with guilt and anger, and makes her voice sharp.

"So you and Naruto, huh."

Ino, already on her way back down the wooden walkways of the settlement, stops in her tracks and whirls around to face Sakura.

"Saku?"

"I don't know why I didn't see it before. But you suit each other." It is impossible to keep the hurt out of her voice, so she doesn't even try. And Ino – Ino laughs.

"Oh Saku." She comes back, wraps her arms around Sakura's stiff and unrelenting form. Strokes her hair, like she did when they were children.

"No, Sakura. No. Naruto… He's my brother."

Sakura goes even stiffer. _That's…_ "Impossible."

"You think so?" Ino's chuckle sounds almost… cheerful. "Have you ever looked at us, Saku? Really looked? Because it's fairly obvious from our appearances, for one. And from everything else, apparently, too."

Blond hair, blue eyes. An uncanny intuition. Inner strength, and a degree of stubbornness – _oh._

 _"Oh,"_ Sakura says, stupidly.

Ino laughs. "Yeah. And since we are twins, and he is a Jedi, you know, I am pretty sure I know he feels about you the same way you feel about him. Now, what are you waiting for? Go greet him."

Sakura hasn't run so fast in a long, long time.

(She still punches him before she throws her arms around him. Naruto just laughs.)

* * *

 **the princess and the peasant (15)**

Naruto's never kissed a girl before.

He's also never _held_ a woman before. He wouldn't have thought it would feel _this way._ But Sakura in his arms – it's perfect.

Which is why the voice makes him jump, badly.

"Naruto. Not that I want to disturb this truly inspiring sight, but you should probably know one thing…"

"Naruto?" Sakura asks, worried. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, it is – sorry, Sakura, it's just that…"

"Did you know that incidentally, Jedi were allowed to marry?"

"I know, but-"

"What do you mean? But?"

"Well, it was a sound decision when the old Order first was established, but it was completely rescinded after the Clone War. Personally, I feel like they could have been a bit more laid-back, but then, look what happened to the Uchiha. It made sense at that time, didn't it?"

"It's nothing, Sakura, it's just that – Sasuke-"

"What is with Sasuke?" she leans back, hurt. "I did love him. But we were _children,_ Naruto. If you think-"

"No, Sakura, please, oh, _shavit!"_

"Please, my student, where are your manners! In the presence of a Princess, even more…"

"Kakashi, if I remember correctly, you were the one who was railing against the old Path of the Jedi relentlessly…"

"Oh, _that's_ what it is!"

"Yes, but that was before my cute little student went and threw himself at a _Princess…_ "

"Kakashi-"

"Kakashi."

"Master! How are you today-"

"Don't _Master_ me! Don't you think it's far too late to become that kind of stupid? Now leave my son alone, or I swear I'll come after you and force you to suffer Gai's presence for the next decade."

"Master, don't you think that's a bit harsh?"

"Never."

And then the Force apparition turns to him, smiling so brightly, and Naruto can feel tears in his eyes. "I'm proud of you, Naruto. Don't let the mistakes of your elders dictate your way of life."

Even if he wanted to, he can't say anything around the lump in his throat.

"Naruto, I swear, if you don't stop talking to Force apparitions and kiss me, I will make sure that your manhood-"

"She has a point, son."

Naruto can't help it: he laughs out loud. Force apparitions, and his parents, and so many of the old Jedi. He'll sort that out later.

"Sakura?"

"What?"

"This will be really, really messed up. All shades of it."

She sighs, pouts, and still manages to look regal and beautiful. "I have the feeling it's never going to be boring." She brightens even more. "I always liked challenges."

Naruto can relate.

So he just laughs, and pulls her in.

* * *

 **epilogue, or: on balance (16)**

"I told you, she is the Force's Chosen One."

"She will be the one to bring the balance, blah, blah, you have been repeating yourself for the past three years, Master Sarutobi. She can't even balance an accounting book, you know."

"Shouldn't you be the one to speak out for her, since she is your Master, Master Kakashi?"

"Whenever you call me that, I feel slightly ill."

"Now I wonder why _that_ is."

"Ha, ha – wait, Master, was that _sarcasm_?"

"I don't know what you mean."

…

"Stop stalking me, Namikaze."

He probably thought he was approaching silently, but when it comes down to it he is a child of Coruscant. Of _shining_ Coruscant, steel and glass and beauty – not the part where she is from, the lower levels, the home of the _Forgotten_. She would have despised him, had they met ten years earlier.

There is more to it.

Kushina hasn't only heard him approach. She can _feel_ him, the unique, warm consciousness, a brilliant glow in the Force. Not Force sensitive – utterly blind, she might say – but _bright._ A living, breathing monument to everything she believes in. She can feel him since he recklessly put himself between a squadron of clone troopers and her four years ago – stupid, utterly idiotic, what could a mere man do to protect a _Jedi_ – and the sensation is… _Overwhelming._

"Knight Uzumaki." He sounds like he is laughing. He always does. It has cost her _months_ to realize that sometimes, his cheerfulness is nothing but a mask. "I beg to differ: _stalking_ and _seeking out_ are two very different things."

"Well, stop whatever you are doing."

The smile in his voice is honest now. She knows, because she _feels_ it.

"If you really want me to." And then, because he is a bastard, he adds: "Kushina."

She closes her eyes at the intimacy in his voice. Feels his hand on her cheek. Then, his lips ghost over hers, and Kushina –

Kushina is lost.

It cannot be wrong, she thinks, somewhere in the depths of her consciousness. Something filled with that much light and peace cannot be wrong.

Because the Force celebrates life, and what else is more precious in life than love?

"They will be loved," Minato whispers, awe clear in his voice; his hands cupping her stomach and feeling the heartbeats within her.

His eyes are so bright she can see herself reflected in them, and Kushina chooses to believe.

* * *

 **bonus**

Her bag is closed, and so is her expression.

"Do you even know what to live for now that the Rebellion turned into the New Republic? You don't, do you?"

She doesn't answer. He chuckles, mirthlessly.

"No, of course you don't. But it won't stop you from leaving."

"There is no reason for me to stay here."

Silence, long and empty, and Shikamaru thinks that she could at least look at him, look him in the eye before she walks out on him. It is stupid, he would never be able to stop her. She's _Alliance_ , living and breathing, and she will find a purpose again if she ever lost hers. He can't compete. She would chose them over him over and over again.

"I don't want you to leave."

He doesn't expect it to make a difference, has no idea why he says it at all. But a miracle occurs: she doesn't leave. Instead, after what feels like an eternity, she walks towards him and drops down in front of him. Her eyes are impossibly beautiful, and so is her smile.

"I know."


End file.
